Essential Terminology

Beginning Humanities: Essential Terms and Vocabulary

The following terms and vocabulary are those that we will use throughout the course. Each student is responsible for completing one of the terms on this page. You need to understand their meaning as well as be able to apply them and/or provide examples. Be sure to complete all columns. It is your responsibility to define the term and find appropriate examples. Your examples should demonstrate an understanding of the term; this means that I should be able to look at your example and understand the term without consulting the definition. I suggest comparing a variety of sources prior to completing your terms. Term assignment is based on a first-come; first-serve basis. This means that you should complete those terms that are available upon viewing this section of the wiki. It is then each student's responsibilty to understand and be able to use the terms throughout the course. All terms should be defined by

Please note--After this activity is complete, students are expected to know and understand each term. You will be assessed on these terms at the completion of the class glossary.

Vocabulary Term	Definition	Examples in Literature/Arts/Music/History	Your Name
Classical	Classical means to be like greek or roman such as in literature and music. Many times it has the same model.	Homer's Odessey is classical because it is like written like many other roman and greek pieces.	Aaron Rill
Anthropomorphism	Giving human qualities to animals or things.	The collections of Greek fables known as Aesop's Fables are known as one of the firsts works of literature that used anthropomorphism.	Soala Idasetima
Canon	A set of rules, laws, or principles given by an authority figure in order to accomplish uniformity.	Often times in music, canons are seen when singing rounds. One part is sung, then that same part is repeated using the same pitch and intonation. When both parts are sung the same, the canon is found.	Jesse Munson
Epithet	a phrase which describes a characteristic commonly associated with a person or object.	A major trait of both Iliad and Odyssey is the epithet. In this context of these pieces the term is also commonly called a 'Homeric epithet.'	Drew Belnick
Hierarchy	A hierarchy is an arrangement or ordered set that may apply to objects, names, people, or categories.	Though hierarchy can be applied to sciences, mathematics, and a variety of topics, it is most often recognized through social classes, military ranks, or governments.	Allison Zito
Architecture	The art or practice of designing and building structures.	The architecture of the first Egyptian pyramid, the step pyramid, was not pleasing to the eye, so the builders improved on the architecture of the Step pyramid, creating a much sleeker designed pyramid, the True pyramid.	Tori Gray
Hubris	excessive pride or self-confidence; arrogance	This term was often used in Greek Tragedy's and tends to result in the protagonists downfall. It was used in Homer's Illiad and Sophocles Antigone.	Katie Villier
Satire	Using irony, sarcasm, or ridicule in a literary piece.	The term satire is most often used to ridicule vice (immoral or evil habits/practices) or folly (the lack of understanding) in literary works from the late fourteenth century.	Jordan Anderon
Avant-garde	New or innovative ideas		Goodrich
Symmetry	A relationship between different aspects of a written piece.	Symmetry within a novel could include similarity within tone, characteristics of the characters and setting, and the mood.	Kay Shue
Virtue	Virtue is the moral excellence; goodness; righteousness.	Sally almost butted in line, but she knew that patience is a virtue so she waited her turn.	Katie Loughran
Myth	A traditional or legendary story	The most classic example of a myth is perhaps Greek Mythology; which includes the stories of Hercules and other ancient heros and gods.	Austin Mohn
Etymology	An etymology is the origin and development of a particular word, following the translations from one language to another, and the evolving meaning.	While studying etymology, I discovered that flower came from the Latin word florem.	Haley Paiva
Soliloquy	Is when someone speaks their thoughts aloud, as if they were alone, ignoring others around them. It usually takes place with a character in a play.	An example of a soliloquy is in Shakespeare's play, Hamlet, when Hamlet gives his speech with the opening line, "To be or not to be". The other characters leave the stage and Hamlet is speaking to himself, debating whether or not to kill himself due to previous depressing events in the play.	Amelia Smith
Lexicon	The Vocabulary of a language. Also, in English, Lexicon is a synonym for a thesaurus.	Calvin uses a large lexicon: Pugnacious, Happenstance, Torpor, Irrefragable, Defenestration, Kerfuffel, Brouhaha, etc.	Calvin Miller
Tragedy	A play involving catastrophic events which usually lead to the downfall of the main character.	A well-known example is Macbeth, a play by William Shakespeare. The main character Macbeth suffers after his greedy attempt to become king. Although he succeeds and obtains the crown, his wife commits suicide and he is eventually murdered by Macduff.	Jessica Smith
Anecdotes	A short, amusing account of an event.	Using anecdotes can make learning history easier and more interesting.	Kirsten Truax
Philology	The study of literary texts and of written records, the establishment of their authenticity and their original form, and the determination of their meaning.	“For the sake of first-hand access to important modern in Latin philology, the candidate is required to have a good reading knowledge of German and French.”	Marissa Maravilla
Mores	The essential customs of a community		Goodrich
Aesthetics	The branch of philosophy that deals with artistic beauty		Goodrich
Synthesis	Reasoning from cause to effect.	"Where characters come together and no character is left outside the final union, as in the marriages that conclude Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice or in the neat conclusions of Shakespeare's comedies."
Dogma	A principle laid down by an authority and considered as true		Goodrich
Morals	The principles, habits, or rules of knowing between what is right and what is wrong.	One of the most famous morals from "The Tortoise and the Hare", written by Aesop is "slow and steady wins the race."	Matt Davis
Didactic	Teaching or intending to teach a moral lesson.	Didactic's can be seen in many fables, including works such as Aesop's Fable's such as "The Boy Who Cried Wolf".	Jessica Rudisill
Pundit	An expert on a particular subject who shares his or her views, opinions, and judgments with the mass.	It easy to find political pundits on any news network such as CNN or Fox News. These "experts" offer their opinions on what's going on in the government and are considered to be very knowledgeable in politics. Pundits on different news networks tend to have opposing opinions, however.	Dan Snare
Paradox	A paradox is a belief, person, or event that contradicts acceptable opinions. Similies include; inconsistency, absurdity, opposite, and mystery.	Leonardo da Vinci could be described as a paradox of his generation because of his peculiar interpretations of art. Da Vinci was ridiculed due to his beliefs and it wasn't until after his death that people understood the true beauty in his work.	Shandelle Sullivan
Fatalism	The doctrine that all event are subject to fate or inevitable predetermination	Fatalism emphasizes the belief in which the future is locked in place. Fatalism has been seen in many different ways ranging from movies to myths. A prime example is Hercules in which "fate" has already been set into place.	Damian Gallagher
Theology	The study of God, religious beliefs, God's attributes to the universe, and divine things.	Some examples of people who study theology, or theologists, include ministers, and clergy. These are people like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who preach and spread the word of God.	Andrew Hummel
Secular	The definition of Secular is the state of being separated from religion. For example, like eating and bathing.	Secular music is differed from sacred music ( scared music is the type of music that involves a lot of religious view like angles, god, etc..) because the theme were not-religious. A well know composer could be Guillaume de Mauchat a french composer.	Jason Zhang
Baroque	of or pertaining to a style of architecture and art originating in Italy in the early 17th century and variously prevalent in Europe and the New World for a century and a half, characterized by free and sculptural use of the classical orders and ornament, by forms in elevation and plan suggesting movement, and by dramatic effect in which architecture, painting, sculpture and the decorative arts often worked to combined effect.	Focused on evening wear, the baroque richness and detailed workmanship reflect the gilt-embossed walls of the venue.	Nicollette Kabat
Ideals	Ideals are a set of standards that one puts on society that are socially acceptable.	The ideal style of art form in the Renaissace period was based upon the architecture that was being built in Italy in the 15 century.	Connor Nixdorf
Ethics	A system of moral principles	In order to determine what ethics a persons holds, one should try to determine what they believe is appropriate and what is not.	Katie Komar
Rhetoric	The undue use of exaggeration or display.	Aristotle wrote an early dialogue on rhetoric entitled ‘Grullos’	Mason Gilbert
Linguistics	The scientific study of language and its structure		Goodrich
Discourse	Communication of thought by words.	Many famous philosophers expressed their innovative opinions though discourses given thought history, in hopes of spreading these new ideas with others.	Paige Knapp
Temporal	Of, relating to, or limited by time	The Last Train From Madrid// leeches war of its particular temporal context, providing an eight-year-old with his first glimpse of war as eternal anonymous suffering.	Jordyn Hughes
Character flaw	A limitation, phobia, imperfection, or problem that is present within a character.	One character flaw that is often present is a violent temper.	Lyndsay Rathbun
Euphemisms	The substitution of a mild or indirect expression for one that can be hurtful, blunt, or offensive.	Euphemisms are used many times though we really don't realize it. The most common euphemism is the phrase "to pass away" instead of "to die." They are used very commonly in American literature and speech.	Andrew March
Renaissance	A rebirth or revivial.	Renaissance literature began in Italy during the 14th century and spread throughout Europe until the 17th century.	Monica Bush
Autonomy	The right of self-governenment	Many people have different ideas on how the government should be run. Republicans, Democrats, as well as the American people, are able to voice their own opinions.	Carly Stauffer
Polytheism	The doctrine of or belief in more than one god or in many gods.	Different religions believe and pray to different things like Hinduism. Hindus believe in many gods or god in many form. Ancient Greeks were also polytheists, they had many different gods like Zeus and Athena.	Lina Than
Monotheism	belief in the existence of only one God	Like Lina said above there are religions that have many different bieliefs. Christianity prays and believes in one god which makes that religion monotheistic.